Furry Muses and Some Writing Links
Posted by annastan on June 4th, 2010. Filed under: Links, Random Fun.If you follow me on Twitter, you might have heard me mention that my husband and I are looking to adopt a dog. Yes, it will be fun to have a furry friend to play catch with, but I’m also looking forward to having a writing mascot/muse. Several of my friends have told me how comforting it is to have their dogs napping nearby as they write (and one even offered to record her dog snoring so I could have it on in the background). Stay tuned for dog updates. And fear not, it will look nothing like this:
Do you have a furry muse in your life?
And finally, for your perusing pleasure, here are some links you might enjoy:
-The brilliant Donald Maass discusses invisible tension on Writer Unboxed
-Amitha Knight guest posts on how to write a hospital scene on the Guide to Literary Agents Blog
-Beth Revis examines setting in dystopian novels on the League of Extraordinary Writers
-Jeanne Ruesch continues her finding your voice series on the Happy Endings Blog
-And Janice Hardy has another great post on plot, namely how characters can drive the plot forward
Have a great weekend!
June 4th, 2010 at 9:42 am
Anna–every single link that you posted is applicable to a question floating about in my mind–is that a sign that you are reading my mind, or that I have WAY to many questions in there???
Typing while one kitten is purring on my lap. And OW another kitten climbs my leg like a tree trunk to join in! Muses or Mayhem, I can’t tell yet.
June 4th, 2010 at 9:55 am
Awesome links! And no, no dog here. My daughter has allergies.
June 4th, 2010 at 10:47 am
I have a shelf above my laptop where my lamp shines directly. My cat has claimed this as her special spot and gets quite angry if anyone else takes it.
(She’s also fallen on my head several times, which is both humorous and nerve wracking.)
June 4th, 2010 at 1:10 pm
I need to go back and catch up on some of your posts! I’ve been a bit crazed lately. But as to the muse – I have a little parrot named Mango. Mango comes with me to my desk each morning and pokes around my desk while I work, usually settling on the keyboard and pecking at my fingers if I dare to try to type. She’s a bit jealous. My son’s allergic to dogs and cats, but I can’t imagine a better pet/muse than her!
June 4th, 2010 at 1:35 pm
Great links, Anna! My dog was my muse in the sense that she was very calming, which helped me focus. (What is it they say–petting a dog or a cat brings your blood pressure down? That kind of calming.) Besides, they’re such fun you don’t have time to worry about your WIP. Okay, if you’re me, you’ll still worry.
June 4th, 2010 at 1:35 pm
Heather, I must have read your mind. Did I not mention I was psychic? Ha, I can see how two kittens might be a tad distracting when you’re trying to write!
Laura, I’m glad the links were useful. My husband has cat allergies, but as far as we know he’s okay with dogs. *fingers crossed*
Rachel, that’s hilarious! I guess knowing a cat might fall on your head at any moment would make you type faster.
Lisa, Mango sounds like the perfect muse (well except for the pecking part). Does that mean you have a lot of birds pop up in your stories?
June 4th, 2010 at 6:18 pm
Your pictures crack me up!
Two cats meander through my office, sleep on my lap or in a chair, insert their paws into the printer, walk the keyboard, or sometimes just hunker down next to it like orderly little companions. I don’t know if they’re muses or not, but they know where I live during the day, and I hope I haven’t mailed too much cat hair to my ICL students.
June 4th, 2010 at 7:15 pm
My newly arrived cat Max can be a bit of a writing distraction with his mischief of one kind and another. I may have to try reading my work aloud to him, though; I have a feeling I’ll feel less silly if I have him as an audience.
June 4th, 2010 at 11:23 pm
It’ll be fun finding out what you decide on. My writing pal is a dauchshund we call Little Bridge.
And thanks again for the awesome links and entertaining pics. I’m thinking that’s the dog that won world’s ugliest recently. Poor thing.
June 5th, 2010 at 1:43 pm
We have an adorable little dog we adopted last year. My sons named him “Stubby” because he has a very small tail.
Good luck with your pooch search. You’ll be making one furry guy very happy!
Thanks for stopping by my blog. I also notice the messy house/progress on wip connection!
June 5th, 2010 at 3:03 pm
Marcia, it sounds like your cats are trying to help you with your writing in their own cat-like ways.
Shoshana, I wonder if cats are good listeners? You’ll have to let me know!
Michelle, Little Bridge is the cutest name for a dachshund! Happy writing!
Julie, Stubby sounds like a great writing pal! I’m glad I’m not the only one whose house descends into chaos when I’m revising.
June 5th, 2010 at 10:40 pm
If you got paid by link, you’d be one wealthy girl! Also, that dog is so scary looking, but I do have a furry muse.
June 6th, 2010 at 3:43 pm
I find cats very museworthy
June 7th, 2010 at 7:54 am
Andrea, that’s what I love about dogs – they can be very calming. They’re also so darned lovable!
Jon, I love collecting links – it’s like a hobby. I think I would scream if I saw that dog in real life.
Eeleen, I can see how a cat could be very muse-worthy – they have so much personality!